Business events present some unique challenges. Often, the business event must be productive as well as memorable. It needs to provide for socialisation and networking, while still keeping everyone on task. And, it has to provide good food. Here's a step-by-step guide to creating a business event that everyone will enjoy — even those who were required to go.

Start With Your Guest List

You can hardly plan a big event without knowing who will come. For a corporate event, the process is a little easier than something like a wedding or birthday party: you should have a list of those who are expected to attend. Your head count is going to become incredibly important when planning and budgeting, so do what you can to make sure that the guest list is accurate.

Figure Out Your Major Requirements

Once your guest list has been completed, it's time to talk to stakeholders and find out more about the event. Be sure to ask:

What are the goals and tone of this event? Is it a celebration of milestones? Is it an announcement of a new product? This will tell you how the event needs to be organised and arranged.

What is the total budget for this event? You'll need to know both the total budget and the budget per head, and you'll have to break those costs down by decor, food, venue, and entertainment costs later on.

When does the event have to be held? This is about more than just deadlines. The timing of the event impacts what's available for that event, especially on the level of seasonal produce.

Once you have access to this core information, you can begin truly planning the event.

Create a Budget for Your Event

Venue, decor, catering, and more: all of these things are going to be covered under your budget. When it comes to corporate event planning, the budgets are often fairly tight. Once you allocate funds to a specific area, you'll want to keep a "buffer" for any unexpected expenses.

Find a Sydney Venue for Your Event

Can your event be held within your offices? Or should the event be held at a professional event space? The type of event, size of event, and event budget are all going to determine which type of venue you use. You can look around your area to find a venue that's suitable, while looking online for positive reviews. You can also ask your caterer, once chosen, to suggest appropriate venues.

When looking for a venue, you will be looking for a place that suits the capacity of your event and the general feel of the event. Is it going to be more casual or more formal? Will you need a stage, or is it more important for people to socialize? These are all questions to ask yourself when planning.

Your caterer is going to help you make quite a few event-related decisions, including: meals, theme, decor, drinks, and even venue. It's often in your best interest to find a caterer as quickly as possible, especially due to the fact that the best caterers tend to be booked out months in advance.

But how can you find a good caterer? Looking online for reviews and testimonials can help, as the best caterers will have solid online reputations. Posts on social media sites will often highlight the type of work that a caterer does, showcasing their talents and also providing inspiration.

When you meet with a caterer, they should be able to give you some ideas for your event, as well as providing samples of their work. It may take some time to find the best caterer, but catering is often what people remember the most when they think about any type of corporate event.

Think About the Theme and Design of Your Sydney Event

With the help of your venue and your caterer, you'll be able to truly begin planning your business event. From here, you'll need to determine the theme, design, and general feel of the event. You'll need to select decor, create a menu, and determine how (and if) drinks will be served.

Explore current catering food trends. Trends change from time to time, and trendy, modern food is often quite memorable.

Determine whether a bar will be available and whether cocktails will be served. This will dramatically change your budget, as well as the scope of the menu.

Consider using a theme for your decor and design. Themes make designing a business event far easier, as a themed event comes with built-in suggestions.

Settle on a colour palette to inform your design. A nice little "cheat" for decorating your business event is to first settle on the colour palette.

This is when the basics will be covered and you'll be able to truly bring your event to life. The right caterer and venue will be able to give you advice about hosting your corporate event, and you should be able to complete the rest of the planning without a hitch.